PE2023: Tan Kin Lian wants to use 'President's office to influence policies'
During the press conference for his candidacy (Aug 11), presidential hopeful Tan Kin Lian elaborated on his decision to run and his interpretation of the president's duties, before reassuring the public about his political independence
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LifestyleTranscript
00:00 A good morning. I am participating in the upcoming election to give the people of Singapore
00:08 a chance to vote for a President that is independent of the ruling party. The President has to
00:17 perform two key duties set out in the Constitution. They are to safeguard our past reserves and
00:29 to protect the integrity of our public service. If elected, I intend to perform these two
00:39 key duties diligently, honestly and to the best of my abilities. I will now state how
00:49 I intend to carry out these two key duties if I were elected as President. I deal with
00:58 the first duty. Our past reserves comprise of a large sum that probably runs into several
01:09 hundreds of billions of dollars, maybe more. It is vitally important that our reserves
01:19 are invested soundly to produce a good rate of return over the long term, covering five
01:28 years or longer, and is not exposed to high risk. I will highlight this overall investment
01:38 strategy to the professional investment managers so that they can carry out their work in the
01:47 best possible way to achieve the desired results. Many people have expressed concern about the
01:58 large investment losses amounting to several tens of billions of dollars incurred by our
02:07 sovereign funds during the past year. We should accept that the market values of investments
02:18 will fluctuate from year to year according to the underlying conditions of the global
02:25 economy. And we should not judge the performance of the past year with the benefit of hindsight
02:35 and with inadequate knowledge of the actual conditions that influence the investment decisions.
02:44 However, there are valuable lessons that can be learned from our recent experience. I intend
02:54 to ensure that these lessons are properly identified and learned so that we can make
03:02 better policy and operating decisions in the future. The actual monitoring will be the
03:11 duty of the Board of Directors, but they will receive my advice and guidance on the approach
03:21 to be taken. Apart from ensuring that the past reserves are invested prudently, I intend
03:32 to work with the Government to ensure that the past reserves are used wisely for the
03:40 benefit of our current and future generations. I now deal with the second duty. It is vitally
03:52 important that we have the right people at the top levels of our public service. While
04:00 we should continue to value the contribution of our scholars who have excellent thinking
04:08 skills, we should also value the knowledge and experience of people who have spent many
04:16 years on the job and they know the ground well. We need different types of people, those
04:26 with talents and those with practical experience, to form a good team. I wish to see that people
04:35 who have gained knowledge and practical experience from many years of dedicated service are given
04:43 the opportunity to advance to positions of leadership. I will be influenced by these
04:53 factors in approving the recommendation of the people to be appointed into the top level
05:02 of our public service. I intend to play an active role in dealing
05:10 with these two key duties of the President. I believe that the active involvement of the
05:17 President and a new direction are necessary to give a new vigour to our governance. With
05:28 the knowledge and experience from 30 years as a Chief Executive Officer of NTUC Income
05:36 Insurance Co-operative, I am confident that I will be able to perform these two key duties
05:43 well. I intend to do so for the benefit of the people of Singapore. Beyond these constitutional
05:54 duties, I have a vision to use the President's Office to influence policies that will make
06:04 a better life for the people of Singapore. I will focus on three fundamental areas crucial
06:13 to the well-being of our citizens – bringing down the cost of living, ensuring affordable
06:23 housing for all, and securing jobs that provide a sense of stability and a path to progress.
06:34 Now I must clarify that I don't intend to be an adversary to the elected government.
06:41 On the contrary, I hope to work in collaboration with the government to achieve the goals stated
06:49 above. My vision is to build a nation where the
06:55 people are united and live in harmony. I believe the people will be united when they feel financially
07:05 secure and are able to look beyond their immediate concerns and think about the greater good
07:14 of our society. This was the spirit of unity and pride that Singaporeans felt 50 years
07:25 ago. We need to rekindle that spirit. I come from a humble background. Throughout
07:34 my entire life, which spans 75 years as of now, I have been in close touch with ordinary
07:43 people. I know their hardship and aspirations. If I am elected into the High Office of President,
07:54 I intend to remain in close touch with the pulse and heartbeat of the people.
08:03 I ask for the support of the people of Singapore to give me a strong mandate so that I can
08:11 provide an independent perspective and act in collaboration with the ruling government
08:21 to deal with the challenges of the future. Thank you.
08:26 [Music]
08:28 [BLANK_AUDIO]